To share and connect with those interested in writing from life, recording their personal histories, writing a memoir for publication and/or personal use, and all things related to writing one's story.

"Have you thought about writing your family history, but found yourself stuck from the start? Writing a family narrative can be a daunting task, but Karen Jones Gowen found a way to bring her mother's story to life." (Homespun Magazine)

Friday, November 23, 2012

What Did the Ghost Say to the Wall?

"Don't mind me, I'm just passing through."

Haha, I'm
listening to my grandson tell riddles to his uncle. This one sticks in
my mind. Because aren't we all like ghosts just passing through?

As
I pass through, I consider life and how it is going so terribly fast.
I'm not at all afraid of ghosts. What I fear is lost opportunity. Every
day my prayer is that I will know what's best for me to do each
particular day.

I haven't always had this prayer in my
heart. But as time slips away, and my children are now the age I was
when I had them, as I hear my grandchildren read from riddle books and
yell, "Why do you always know the answers???" just as my own little boys
used to do, I get a little panicky seeing time pass so quickly right
before my eyes.

Because there's still so very much to do. I should quit thinking about ghosts and walls and just passing through, and instead live in the moment, like this--

I'm quite interested in following this. As you know, I have a great love of family history. As far as I'm concerned our departed and much loved ancestors aren't that far away. There have been many many times when the veil has parted and I've been quite comforted by what I've seen. Way to go, Karen. Keep up the good work!

Followers

Just Do It! Write Your Story

"I devoted myself, early on, to writing. Really writing. Just doing it, no matter how awkward and unfit I felt. So every single morning I am on the planet, I grit my teeth and this hard, embarrassing, abject, thrilling thing--writing--because I want, in part, to count." (from Page after Page by Heather Sellers)

Photos from Farm Girl

High school graduation photo of Lucille Marker, the farm girl

Lucille drinking from the well

John Marker, Dust Bowl Days

The Marker Nebraska farmstead

"Farm Girl presents a vision of life on a Nebraska homestead during the 1920's and 1930's, told from a child's perspective, and illustrated with photographs of the time." (Quincy Herald Whig)

"Through the intertwined stories of the life of the Marker family and of the broader historical time period, the book is more than captivating. Gowen's vivid account of her mother's life allows Farm Girl to read as seamlessly as if one were recalling personal memories." (The Holyoke Enterprise)

"Farm Girl will capture the interest of readers in the photos the book contains and witty recollections Lucille has of her grandparents in Catherton Township." (The Red Cloud Chief)

To Buy My Books

True coming of age story of a young girl growing up on a 1930's Nebraska farm.

Click to order

A young married couple struggles to find balance during the over-the-top decade of the Seventies. An autobiographical novel.

Praise for Uncut Diamonds

"What I love is the dialogue." (Deirdre Paulsen, BYU English professor)

"...tight, realistic, warm family truth... exactly the kind of realistic character-and relationship-driven writing I have been waiting to happen in the LDS market." (Marilyn Brown, award-winning author and benefactor of the annual Marilyn Brown Award)